The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in Science. The lowest is 9% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Smith J D Ms
Smith J D MS is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight in North Las Vegas, part of the Clark County School District. The campus sits on East Stanley Avenue in the northern part of the city. It is a large middle school by enrollment, with students distributed fairly evenly across the three grade levels.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller Black enrollment and very small representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school among those serving a community with concentrated economic need. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available in the records we reviewed, so those population sizes remain unclear.
On state assessments administered through Nevada's SBAC testing, proficiency rates are low across all three subjects reported. Math proficiency is particularly low. English language arts sits higher than math but still well below what most middle schools in the state post. Science proficiency is the strongest of the three subjects, though still in the lower range. Participation rates were strong across all tested subjects, so the results reflect nearly the full student body rather than a partial sample. Average scale scores were not reported, and no multi-year trend information was available, so there is no way to tell from this data whether these results represent a decline, a plateau, or something else. A parent evaluating this school may want to ask the administration directly about what academic improvement plans are in place and how those plans track from year to year.
The school sits within North Las Vegas, a suburban city in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The built environment is car-dependent, with master-planned communities such as Aliante and Eldorado separated from the industrial and warehouse-distribution corridors that have traditionally anchored the local economy. Publicly reported sources describe the city as one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, with manufacturing, warehouse distribution, and increasingly solar and green technology firms shaping the employment base. Major employers include Nellis Air Force Base, the U.S. Department of Energy Nevada Test Site, an Amazon fulfillment center, and a Sephora distribution center. The Clark County School District itself, which operates schools across the broader Las Vegas Valley rather than from a local downtown, is among the largest employers in the county.
Civic infrastructure in North Las Vegas includes a network of parks, multiple libraries spread across different neighborhoods, and recreation centers that serve as community gathering points. The city has built out a regional trail system along the Las Vegas Wash that connects to the broader Neon to Nature network. There is no strong traditional downtown center; civic and educational facilities sit on separated campuses. Public transit is available through RTC Transit bus service.
The housing market around the school is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks, consistent with the area's economic profile. Home values in this zip code sit well below the Nevada state benchmark and modestly below the national figure. Year-over-year home values have softened slightly, while rents have risen. The estimated monthly cost of owning with a mortgage exceeds the cost of renting here, and the price-to-income ratio suggests that buying stretches household budgets more than in many parts of the country, even at this lower price point.
The district brief returned no parent-relevant policy, curriculum, referendum, or tax changes for Clark County School District. We looked for the district's strategic priorities but found little, so we left it out rather than guess. Data on discipline, course access, staffing, attendance, Title I status, and program offerings was also absent from the available records, so those dimensions of school life cannot be characterized here. What the data does show is a large, high-poverty middle school in a fast-growing suburban city, with state test results that indicate academic challenges across math, reading, and science. Families considering this school would benefit from direct conversations with school leadership about instructional approach, support services, and the specific plans in place to strengthen student outcomes.
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